The Marshall Mathers LP

The Marshall Mathers LP is the third studio album by American rapper Eminem, released on May 23, 2000 by Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album was produced mostly by Dr. Dre and Eminem, along with The 45 King, the Bass Brothers, and Mel-Man. It was recorded over a two-month period in several studios in the Detroit area, and during this time, Eminem felt significant pressure to improve upon the success of his previous record. Released a year after Eminem's breakout album The Slim Shady LP, the album features more introspective lyricism including the rapper's response to his sudden rise to fame and controversy surrounding his lyrics. Musically, the album has been associated with the genres of hardcore hip hop and horrorcore.

In addition to his relationship with fame, the rapper also discusses his relationship with wife Kim Mathers and his mother, who are both negatively depicted throughout the album. Like The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP was surrounded by significant controversy upon its release. Criticism centered around lyrics that were considered violent, homophobic, and misogynistic. Lynne Cheney criticized the lyrics at a United States Senate hearing, while the Canadian government considered refusing Eminem's entry into the country. Despite the controversy, the record received acclaim from critics, who praised the rapper's lyrical ability and emotional depth. Retrospectively, the album has appeared on several lists of the greatest albums of all time.

The Slim Shady LP turned Eminem from an underground rapper into a high-profile celebrity. The rapper, who had previously struggled to provide for his daughter Hailie, noted a drastic change in his lifestyle.[4] In June 1999, he married his girlfriend Kimberly Ann "Kim" Scott, the mother of Hailie, despite the fact that the song "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" from The Slim Shady LP contains references to killing her.[5] The rapper became uncomfortable with the level of fame he had achieved, and said, "I don't trust nobody now because everybody I meet is meeting me as Eminem...I don't know if they are hanging with me 'cause they like me or because I'm a celebrity or because they think they can get something from me."[4] Eminem also became a highly controversial figure due to his lyrical content. He was labeled as "misogynist, a nihilist and an advocate of domestic violence", and in an editorial, Billboard editor in chief Timothy White accused Eminem of "making money by exploiting the world's misery".[1]

Eminem (pictured in 1999) wrote the majority of The Marshall Mathers LP while in the studio.

The Marshall Mathers LP was recorded in a two-month-long "creative binge", which often involved 20-hour-long studio sessions.[6] Eminem hoped to keep publicity down during the recording in order to stay focused on working and figuring out how to "map out" each song.[6] He described himself as a "studio rat" who benefited creatively from the isolated environment of the studio.[7] Much of the album was written spontaneously in the studio; Dr. Dre noted, "We don't wake up at two in the morning, call each other, and say, 'I have an idea. We gotta get to the studio.' We just wait and see what happens when we get there."[8] Eminem observed that much of his favorite material on the album evolved from "fucking around" in the studio; "Marshall Mathers" developed from the rapper watching Jeff Bass casually strumming a guitar, while "Criminal" was based on a piano riff Eminem overheard Bass playing in studio next door.[7] "Kill You" was written when Eminem heard the track playing in the background while talking to Dr. Dre on the phone and developed an interest in using it for a song. He then wrote the lyrics at home and met up with Dr. Dre and the two recorded the song together.[8]

"Kim" was the first song the rapper recorded for the album, shortly after finishing work on The Slim Shady LP in late 1998.[9] Eminem wrote "Kim" at a time in which he and his wife were separated, and he had just watched a romantic movie alone at a theater.[9] Originally intending to write a love song for her while using ecstasy, the rapper hoped to avoid overt sentimentality and thus began writing a song of hate.[10] With the track, the rapper aimed to create a short horror story in the form of a song. Once the couple reconciled, Eminem recalls, "I asked her to tell me what she thought of it. I remember my dumb ass saying, 'I know this is a fucked-up song, but it shows how much I care about you. To even think about you this much. To even put you on a song like this'."[11] The song "Stan" was produced by The 45 King. Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg, sent Eminem a tape of the producer's beats, and the second track featured a sample of English singer-songwriter Dido's "Thank You".[12] Upon hearing the song's lyrics, Eminem felt they described an obsessed fan, which became the inspiration for the song. The writing process for "Stan" differed greatly from Eminem's usual strategy, in which song concepts form during the writing: "'Stan' was one of the few songs that I actually sat down and had everything mapped out for. I knew what it was going to be about."[12] Dido later heard "Stan" and enjoyed it, and observed, "I got this letter out of the blue one day. It said, 'We like your album, we've used this track. Hope you don't mind, and hope you like it.' When they sent ['Stan'] to me and I played it in my hotel room, I was like, 'Wow! This track's amazing.'"[13]

The record label speculated that Eminem would be the first artist to sell one million copies in an album's first week of release. These expectations placed a large burden on Eminem, who recalled, "I was scared to death. I wanted to be successful, but before anything, I want respect."[12] After the album was finished, the record label felt that there were no songs that had potential to be a lead single.[12] Feeling pressured, Eminem returned to the studio and wrote "The Way I Am" as his way of saying, "Look, this is the best I can do. I can't give you another 'My Name Is.' I can't just sit in there and make that magic happen."[12] However, after the song was added to the album, Eminem felt the urge to write another song, and gave a hook to Dr. Dre for him to create a beat, and went home to write new lyrics; the song eventually became "The Real Slim Shady".[12] The song also discusses Eminem killing Dr. Dre. The producer stated, "It was funny to me. As long as it's hot, let's roll with it ... in my opinion, the crazier it is the better. Let's have fun with it and excite people."[8]

Dr. Dre (pictured in 2008) produced most of the first half of the album, together with Mel-Man

Considered both a hardcore hip hop album and a horrorcore album,[14][15] much of the album's first half was produced by Dr. Dre and Mel-Man, who employed their typical sparse, stripped-down beats, to put more focus on Eminem's vocals. The background music on the record employs "liquid basslines, stuttering rhythms, slight sound effects, and spacious soundscapes".[16]Bass Brothers and Eminem produced most of the second half, which ranges from the laid-back guitars of "Marshall Mathers" to the atmosphere of "Amityville". The only outside producer on the album was The 45 King, who sampled a verse from Dido's song "Thank You" for "Stan", while adding a slow bass line.

The Marshall Mathers LP contains more autobiographical themes in comparison to The Slim Shady LP.[17] Much of the album is spent addressing his rise to fame and attacking those who criticized his previous album. Other themes include his relationship with his family, including his mother and Kim Mathers, his ex-wife.[18] Unlike Eminem's major-label debut, The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP is more introspective in its lyrics and uses less of the Slim Shady persona, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine writing that the album's lyrics "[blur] the distinction between reality and fiction, humor and horror, satire and documentary".[16] The record showcases a variety of moods, ranging from irreverent and humorous to "dark and unsettling enough to make you want to enlarge the parental warning stickers on the album."[17] According to Neil Strauss of The New York Times, "Eminem never makes it clear which character—Slim Shady or Marshall Mathers—is the mask and which is the real person, because there is no clear-cut answer, except that there's a little bit of each character in all of us."[19]

Most songs cover Eminem's childhood struggles and family issues, involving his mother ("Kill You"), the relationship struggles with his wife ("Kim"), his struggles with his superstardom and expectations ("Stan", "I'm Back", and "Marshall Mathers"), his return and effect on the music industry ("Remember Me?", "Bitch Please II"), his drug use ("Drug Ballad", "The Kids"), his effect on the American youth and society ("The Way I Am", "Who Knew"), and reactionary barbs to critical response of his vulgarity and dark themes ("Criminal").[20] Despite the large amount of controversy regarding the lyrics, the lyrics on the album were overwhelmingly well received among critics and the hip hop community, many praising Eminem's verbal energy and dense rhyme patterns.[14]

The record also contains lyrics that have been considered to be homophobic.[21] The song "Criminal" features the line "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/That'll stab you in the head whether you're a fag or les...Hate fags?/The answer's yes".[21] The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) condemned his lyrics and criticized the album for "encourag[ing] violence against gay men and lesbians".[22] However, writing for the LGBT interest magazine The Advocate, editor Dave White writes, "If he has gay-bashed you or me, then it logically follows that he has also raped his own mother, killed his wife, and murdered his producer, Dr. Dre. If he's to be taken literally, then so is Britney Spears' invitation to 'hit me baby, one more time'."[21] Eminem noted that he began using the word "faggot" more frequently when "people got all up in arms about it...to piss them off worse", but added, "I think it's hard for some people to understand that for me the word 'faggot' has nothing to do with sexual preference. I meant something more like assholes or dickheads."[23]

The second song on the album, "Kill You" exemplifies the album's over-the-top descriptions of violence, confrontational vocal delivery, and criticism of the media, record label expectations, and Eminem's mother.

The album's third single has been referred to as the album's centerpiece and features a sample of Dido's "Thank You". During the verses, Eminem portrays both himself and an obsessive fan, with pen-scratching sounds in the background to indicate communication via letters.

The first track, "Kill You", discusses the controversy that surrounded the rapper's first album, nightmares of "ladies' screams", and being raised by a single mother.[24] In the song, Eminem also talks of raping his mother, and "notes the irony of magazines trumpeting his mother-raping self on their covers'. "[24] The six-and-a-half minute long "Stan" samples Dido's "Thank You" and tells the story of an exchange between the rapper and an obsessive fan, where the titular character berates Eminem for not responding to his letters.[25] On "Who Knew", the rapper addresses criticism regarding glorification of violence in his lyrics, pointing out perceived hypocrisy in American society. According to Gabriel Alvarez of Complex, Eminem's response ranges oscillates from "smart-ass ('Oh, you want me to watch my mouth, how?/Take my fuckin' eyeballs out and turn 'em around?') to smart ('Ain't they got the same moms and dads who got mad when I asked if they liked violence?/And told me that my tape taught 'em to swear/What about the makeup you allow your 12-year-old daughter to wear?')."[26] "Who Knew" is followed by the "Steve Berman" skit, where the president of sales at Interscope Records angrily confronts the rapper about his lyrical content. He notes that Dr. Dre was successful because he rapped about "big-screen TVs, blunts, 40's, and bitches", while Eminem raps about "homosexuals and Vicodin", and believes that the album will be a commercial disaster.[27]

"The Way I Am" is a meditation on the pressure to maintain his fame, and his fear of being "pigeon-holed into some poppy sensation/to cop me rotation at rock 'n' roll stations".[28] He also laments the negative media attention received by controversial public figures such as himself and Marilyn Manson in the wake of disasters such as the Columbine High School massacre. The rapper criticizes the media for focusing on tragedies such as school shootings while ignoring inner-city violence that occurs on a daily basis.[28] "The Real Slim Shady" pokes fun at pop culture icons such as Spears, Christina Aguilera and Will Smith.[29] "Remember Me?" follows and features rappers RBX and Sticky Fingaz, who "kick seriously Stygian darkness on the ominous track".[20] In the song, he states "I'm tryna clean up my fuckin' image / So I promised the fuckin' critics / I wouldn't say 'fuckin' for six minutes/(Six minutes, Slim Shady, you're on)". Despite saying the word "fuck" one more time in "Remember Me", and three times at the beginning of "I'm Back", he does not say the word "fuckin'" seven minutes and 29 after delivering the original promise, in the song "Marshall Mathers".[27]

This song, with its sparce, minimalist production featuring an acoustic guitar, is a diss track aimed at pop artists such as NSYNC, Ricky Martin, and Britney Spears. It also expresses frustration at people who have tried to use Eminem for his fame.

"I'm Back" features Eminem's observations regarding his rise to fame, explaining that he "became a commodity/'Cause I'm W-H-I-T-E".[24] The next song, "Marshall Mathers" mocks the chorus of LFO's "Summer Girls", while criticizing the lack of artistic merit of pop stars such as Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Ricky Martin.[29][30] "Drug Ballad" features Dina Rae[31] and describes the rapper's struggles with his drug addiction, and writes about some of his experiences under the influence, including ecstasy which makes him "sentimental as fuck, spilling guts to you/we just met, but I think I'm in love with you".[32] "Amityville" is a bass-heavy ode to living in Detroit, where the rapper discusses the city's crowning as murder capital of the United States.[14] "Bitch Please II" features Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, and Xzibit, and contains elements of g-funk, as well as R&B crooning from Nate Dogg on the chorus.[20]

"Kim", the prequel to "'97 Bonnie and Clyde" from The Slim Shady LP, features Eminem "screaming at his ex in an insane stream-of-consciousness hate spew".[14] The song begins with Eminem talking softly to his daughter, but as the beat starts, the rapper takes on portraying two characters, utilizing his own enraged, threatening voice, and the terrified shrieks of his wife Kim.[33] As the song ends, Eminem kills her while taunting, "Bleed, bitch, bleed!"[33] "Kim" is followed by "Under the Influence", which sees Eminem speaking in gibberish for the chorus, and later rap group D12 "runs rampant" on the track.[20] "Criminal" features production from F.B.T., which consists of "piano licks, swerving synth, and a deceptively simplistic bass rumble over which Em snakes and snarls and warns that 'you can't stop me from topping these charts...'".[20] He pokes fun at critics who take his lyrical content seriously, explaining that "half the shit I say, I just make it up to make you mad".[34]

In his book Edited Clean Version: Technology and the Culture of Control, author Raiford Guins writes that the clean version of The Marshall Mathers LP "resembles a cross between a cell phone chat with terrible reception...and a noted hip-hop lyricist suffering from an incurable case of hiccups."[35] This version of the album often either omits words completely or obscures them with added sound effects.[35] The clean version of the album did not censor all profanity. Words like "ass", "bitch", "goddamn", and "shit" were uncensored. However, on the track "The Real Slim Shady", the words "bitch" and "shit" were censored out, as they used the clean version released for radio. References to violence and weapons were also significantly altered, and the songs "Kill You", "Drug Ballad" and "Bitch Please II" are written as "**** You", "Ballad" and "***** Please II" on the back cover of the album.[35] The song "Kim" is removed completely and replaced by the South Park-themed "The Kids".[36]

Significant edits were made to aggressive and violent lyrics that were aimed at police, prostitutes, women, homosexuals, bullies and schools. In response to the attack that had occurred at Columbine High School in April 1999, names of guns and sounds of them firing were censored. Interscope Records insisted on censoring the words "kids" and "Columbine" from the line, "I take seven [kids] from [Columbine], stand them all in line" from "I'm Back", even on the explicit version of the album.[34] Mike Rubin of Spin called the censorship a "curious decision, given that lyrics like 'Take drugs / Rape sluts' are apparently permissible".[34] Eminem commented on his lyrics regarding the shooting, "That Columbine shit is so fucking touchy. As much sympathy as we give the Columbine shootings, nobody ever looked at it from the fuckin' point of view of the kids who were bullied—I mean, they took their own fucking life! And it was because they were pushed so far to the fucking edge that they were fucking so mad. I've been that mad."[34] The full line appears uncensored in Eminem's song "Rap God" from The Marshall Mathers LP 2.[37] The line "It doesn't matter [your attorney Fred Gibson's a] faggot" was also censored from "Marshall Mathers", which refers to his mother Debbie Nelson's lawyer, who assisted her in filing a lawsuit against the rapper for defamation regarding lyrics from The Slim Shady LP.[38]

Eminem considered naming the album Amsterdam after a trip to the city shortly after the release of The Slim Shady LP, in which he and his friends engaged in heavy drug use.[39] The "free" use of drugs Eminem observed during his time in Amsterdam greatly influenced his desire to openly discuss drug use in his music and inspired some of the content on the album.[39][40]

The Marshall Mathers LP was released on May 23, 2000, by Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope Records, in the United States,[41] and on September 11, 2000, by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom.[42]The Marshall Mathers LP was released with two different album covers. The original features Eminem sitting on the porch of the house he lived in during his teenage years.[12] He reflected on the photo shoot by saying, "I had mixed feelings because I had a lot of good and bad memories in that house. But to go back to where I grew up and finally say, 'I've made it', is the greatest feeling in the world to me. "[12] The other cover features the rapper seated in a fetal position beneath a loading dock with alcohol and prescription pill bottles at his feet.[24] Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly likened Eminem's appearance on the cover to a "dysfunctional Little Rascal", viewing the image as indicative of the rapper's musical evolution: "Easy to read, right? The debut: a violent fantasy, the acting-out of a persona. The follow-up: the vulnerable artist unmasked."[24]

The Marshall Mathers LP sold 1.76 million copies in its first week, which made it the fastest-selling rap album in history and also was fastest selling album by a solo artist until Adele surpassed the record with 25 in November 2015, selling over 3 million copies first week. It sold twice as much as the previous record holder, Snoop Dogg's 1993 album Doggystyle, and also topped Britney Spears' record for highest 1-week sales by any solo artist.[43] The album sold over 800,000 in its 2nd week, 600,000 in its 3rd week, and 520,000 copies in its 4th week for a 4-week total of 3.65 million. It also became one of the few albums to sell over half a million copies for 4 consecutive weeks. In total, the album spent 8 weeks at #1 on the US Billboard 200 music chart, good enough for 4th on the current all-time list of weeks spent at #1 by a Hip-Hop album.[44] By the end of 2000, The Marshall Mathers LP had become the second highest-selling album of the year with over 8 million sold.[45]

The album's 1st single, "The Real Slim Shady", became Eminem's biggest hit up to that point and peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart and topping the UK Singles Charts.[46][47] "The Way I Am", which was released as the album's second single, peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart[46] and #58 on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart. "Stan", the 3rd single released from the album, became a #1 hit in both the United Kingdom[46] and Australia.[48]

In 2010, the Nielsen Company reported that up until November 2009, The Marshall Mathers LP had sold 10,216,000 copies in the US, making it the 4th-best selling album of the decade.[49] By February 2014, The Marshall Mathers LP had sold 10,818,000 copies in the United States, being Eminem's best selling album in his home country.[50]The Marshall Mathers LP sold at least 11 million copies in the United States.[51] Worldwide, The Marshall Mathers LP has sold over 35 million copies.[52] A sequel to the album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, was released on November 5, 2013.[53]

The Marshall Mathers LP received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 78, based on 21 reviews.[54]Rolling Stone magazine's Touré complimented Dr. Dre's production and Eminem's varied lyrical style on what is a "car-crash record: loud, wild, dangerous, out of control, grotesque, unsettling", but ultimately captivating.[14]Melody Maker said that Eminem's startlingly intense vision of "rap's self-consciousness" is truly unique,[56] while Steve Sutherland of NME praised the album as a misanthropic and "gruelling assault course of lyrical genius" that critiques malevolent aspects of contemporary society.[57]Chuck Eddy from The Village Voice said that Eminem is backed by attractive music and displays an emotionally complex and witting quality unlike his previous work.[62] In the newspaper's consumer guide column, Robert Christgau called him "exceptionally witty and musical, discernibly thoughtful and good-hearted, indubitably dangerous and full of shit", while declaring the album "a work of art whose immense entertainment value in no way compromises its intimations of a pathology that's both personal and political".[61]Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly wrote that as the first significant popular music album of the 2000s, The Marshall Mathers LP is "indefensible and critic-proof, hypocritical and heartbreaking, unlistenable and undeniable".[24]

On the other hand, music journalist Greg Kot said the reaction to The Marshall Mathers LP was "mixed", or reluctantly positive, among critics who praised Eminem's "verbal skills and transgressive humor" but decried some of the subject matter.[63] In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn reserved his praise because of homophobic lyrics on what he felt is an otherwise conceptual and personal work, "docked a half star because of the recurring homophobia—something that may be de rigueur in commercial rap, but which still is unacceptable."[17] Steve Jones of USA Today opined that Eminem's "vicious and patently personal lyrical assaults" would "almost grow tedious if he weren't as inventive as he is tasteless."[60]Q magazine felt that the subject matter does not make for an enjoyable listen, even though Eminem's disaffected and nihilistic lyrics can be provocative.[58]Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani was more critical in a one-and-a-half star review and found his raps extremely distasteful: "The only thing worse than Eminem's homophobia is the immaturity with which he displays it".[64] On the other hand, Spin felt that the rapping is excellent, but plagued more so by unremarkable music and lackluster tracks.[65]

In 2003, The Marshall Mathers LP was ranked number 302 on Rolling StoneMagazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time;[73] it was moved up to number 244 in the magazine's revised 2012 edition of the list.[74]IGN named it the twenty-fourth greatest rap album of all time in a 2004 list.[75] According to Sputnikmusic's Nick Butler, The Marshall Mathers LP stands as a culturally significant record in American popular music, but also "remains a truly special album, unique in rap's canon, owing its spirit to rock and its heritage to rap, in a way I've rarely heard".[76] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Christian Hoard said that the album "delved much deeper into personal pain [than The Slim Shady LP], and the result was a minor masterpiece that merged iller-than-illflows with a brilliant sense of the macabre."[71]

In 2006, The Marshall Mathers LP was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 greatest albums of all time.[77] That same year, Q ranked it number 85 on a list of the greatest albums of all time, the highest position held by any rap album on the list.[78]The Marshall Mathers LP was also the highest ranked rap album on the National Association of Recording Merchandisers & the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 200 greatest albums of all time, where it was placed at number 28.[79] It has been named one of the greatest albums of the 2000s decade by Rolling Stone Magazine, who ranked it seventh,[80]Complex Magazine, who ranked it fourth,[81] and Pitchfork, who ranked it 119th.[82]

"Nobody is excluded from my poking at. Nobody. I don't discriminate, I don't exclude nobody. If you do something fucked up, you're bound to be made fun of. If I do something fucked up, I'll make fun of myself—I'm not excluded from this."

At a United States Senate hearing, Lynne Cheney criticized Eminem and sponsor Seagram for "promot[ing] violence of the most degrading kind against women", labeling him as "a rap singer who advocates murder and rape".[91] She specifically cited lyrics from "Kill You", explaining, "He talks about murdering and raping his mother. He talks about choking women slowly so he can hear their screams for a long time. He talks about using O.J.'s machete on women, and this is a man who is honored by the recording industry".[91] Cheney drew a link between the Columbine massacre and violent music, mentioning artists Eminem and Marilyn Manson as musicians who contribute to the United States' culture of violence. Although she stated that she has "long been a vocal supporter of free speech", Cheney called for the music industry to impose age-restrictions on those who can purchase music with violent content.[91]

On October 26, 2000, Eminem was to perform at a concert in Toronto's SkyDome.[92] However, Ontario Attorney General Jim Flaherty argued that Canada should stop Eminem at the border. "I personally don't want anyone coming to Canada who will come here and advocate violence against women", he said.[92] Flaherty claims to have been "disgusted" when reading transcriptions of Eminem's song "Kill You", which includes lines like "Slut, you think I won't choke no whore/till the vocal cords don't work in her throat no more?"[92] Eminem's fans argued that this was a matter of free speech and that he was unfairly singled out.[92]Michael Bryant suggested that the government let Eminem perform and then prosecute him for violating Canada's hate crime laws, despite the fact that Canada's hate-crime legislation does not include violence against women.[93] In an editorial in The Globe and Mail, author Robert Everett-Green wrote, "Being offensive is Eminem's job description."[94] Eminem was granted entry into Canada.[95]

A 2001 and 2004 study by Edward Armstrong found that of the 14 songs on The Marshall Mathers LP eleven contain violent and misogynistic lyrics and nine depict killing women through choking, stabbing, drowning, shooting, head and throat splitting. According to the study, Eminem scores 78% for violent misogyny while gangsta rap music in general reaches 22%.[96][97] Armstrong argues that violent misogyny characterizes most of Eminem's music and that the rapper "authenticates his self-presentations by outdoing other gangsta rappers in terms of his violent misogyny."[97] A fifteen-year-old boy in Fresno, California was arrested in September 2015 for making terrorist threats, after sharing the Columbine-related lyrics to "I'm Back" on Instagram.[98]

Elton John performed "Stan" with Eminem at the Grammys despite negative reactions from the LGBT community.

Protests against the album's content reached a climax when it was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2001 including Album of the Year.[86] At the ceremony, Eminem performed "Stan" in a duet with openly gay artist Elton John playing piano and singing the chorus. This performance was a direct response to claims by GLAAD and others who claimed his lyrics were homophobic, with Eminem stating, "Of course I'd heard of Elton John, but I didn't know he was gay. I didn't know anything about his personal life. I didn't really care, but being that he was gay and he had my back, I think it made a statement in itself saying that he understood where I was coming from."[99] GLAAD did not change its position, however, and spoke out against Elton John's decision.[100] Despite significant protests and debate, The Marshall Mathers LP went on to win Best Rap Album.

Singer Christina Aguilera was upset about the lyric, "Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs so I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst / and hear 'em argue over who she gave head to first" from "The Real Slim Shady", calling the rapper's claim "disgusting, offensive and, above all, not true".[101] Eminem included this line after becoming angry with the singer for informing the public during an MTV special without his consent about the rapper's secret marriage to Kim Mathers.[101] However, the two later settled their differences after hugging backstage at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, with the singer appearing at the premiere of 8 Mile months later.[101]

In 2002, French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier filed a $10 million lawsuit against Eminem, claiming the beat for "Kill You" was stolen from his song "Pulsion".[102]

^ ab"Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP". Q (167): 98. August 2000. True, even misdirected, Eminem's disaffection sucks you in and the wholesale nihilism can still provoke shivers. But it all used to be more fun.

^"Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP". Spin. May 20, 2000. Funny how so much controversy can spring up over an album that is, musically, not all that noteworthy ... what could have been a brilliant statement, instead elevates Eminem to the rarefied air of true platinum rappers: ie, those that drop outstanding rhymes over frustratingly mediocre beats.